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Did Porsche kill Can-Am? The rise and fall of the 917 and Penske Racing
Description
The Porsche 917/10 and 917/30 were two of the most terrifyingly powerful race cars ever constructed. With a twin-turbocharged flat-12 engine making more than 1,000 horsepower, it was so dominant that it seemed almost inevitable that it would crush the competition in America's no-holds-barred Can-Am Series — with the help of Penske Racing and Mark Donohue, of course.
But the 917/30 did so much more than dominate Can-Am. It helped expose a fundamental contradiction at the heart of the series: Can-Am was designed to let engineers build the wildest, fastest cars imaginable… but the freedom to innovate often came with an unbearable price tag. Throw a global recession into the mix, and you've got a recipe for disaster.
In this month's episode of Deadly Passions, Terrible Joys, we follow Porsche Penske's unlikely partnership, Mark Donohue's brutal 1972 season, the creation of the 917/30, and the dominance that followed. At the same time, we'll look at Porsche's involvement in motorsport throughout history and the economic conditions that resulted in the collapse of one of the greatest sports in the world in order to answer one major question: Did Porsche kill Can-Am? Or did Can-Am engineer itself into an unwinnable war?
#markdonohue #porsche #penske #penskeporsche #motorsport #motorsporthistory #canam #canadianamericanchallengecup #rogerpenske #racing #racinghistory #porsche917
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Episode Bibliography:
The Unfair Advantage by Mark Donohue
Can-Am 50th Anniversary by George Levy
Can-Am by Pete Lyons
Can-Am Challenger by Peter Bryant